Valencia took the best punches Panathinaikos could throw and asked them to hit harder. In only their second ever trip to the playoffs, they are headed to the Euroleague Final Four. Emmet Ryan on how hockey subs, an unselfish attitude typified by Jean Montero, and a refusal to let fear creep in guided them to victory.
They never blinked. Not when they couldn’t make a shot nor when Panathinaikos made a run. Valencia stared into the bright lights of Game 5 of the Euroleague playoffs and smiled. While the score may have tightened at points, this was rarely close.
In a game that was certain to test their nerves like none prior, Valencia’s players held theirs with room to spare. Pedro Martinez’s approach has been thoroughly vindicated as the hockey subs approach worked yet again.
Jean Montero didn’t even have much of a shooting night yet he was still invaluable while Brancou Badio went 5 of 13 from the field yet was unquestionably the killer when it mattered. These guys were ready and it showed.
Seriously, Jean Montero
Jean Montero, who is somehow still being talked about in terms of jumping to the NCAA, was vital. That part was expected. What wasn’t expected was how he proved to be the man Valencia needed most in the biggest Euroleague game in their history.
Montero only took 5 shots from the field all night, making just two. The Dominican also only made 3 assists and had zero steals. Considering his season averages are over 10 FGAs and 4.7 assists, you’d have expected this to be a down night just looking at his routine big stats.
Of course, watching the game told a different tale. Montero committed to shutting the Panathinaikos offensive game down. The Euroleague Rising Star had 3 blocks to go with his 5 rebounds. That Game 5 display accounted for a quarter of all the blocks Montero made in 37 Euroleague games this season. That was sacrifice right there.
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They settled and stood tall
I don’t need to tell anyone who watched the game that the first 5 minutes of that game was ugly. With a place in the Euroleague Final Four at stake, both sides were far more concerned about stopping each other than actually constructing a decent offensive set.
Yet, despite a roster loaded with championship experience, it was Panathinaikos who stayed static longer. Valencia eased into the game much better as Pedro Martinez stuck to his plan (dude must have NHL pass with these hockey subs). After a low-scoring first, it was the hosts who pressed hard in the second quarter.
Brancou Badio was the obvious scoring outlet while Jean Montero was happy as a pig in you know what doing the hard grafting. There was a sense of inevitability at the break. Surely Panathinaikos would make them falter.
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About that
Yes the Athens club rallied to a degree but they never truly rocked Valencia. Defensively, the hosts were still making Panathinaikos work awfully hard for every bucket. This was not a case of the Greens revving up and Valencia blinking.
Moreover, Brancou Badio had exceptional timing. Just when it felt like there was a real opening for Panathinaikos to worry Valencia, he was there to get a big bucket and force the visitors to start over.
It was Valencia who looked like the team that was used to scenarios like this. Much as I have harped on about the impact of Jean Montero, big plaudits should also go to the likes of Kam Taylor, Sergio De Larrea, and Braxton Key who lived the workrate that Pedro Martinez demanded. That’s what got them to the final weekend of the Euroleague season.
Who could they fear now?
There will be a proper look ahead to Valencia in the Euroleague Final Four but this series will stand to them in Athens. We all knew about Jean Montero being the key guy going into this series and the radical brilliance of Pedro Martinez on the sidelines.
The series with Panathinaikos, especially coming back from 2-0 down, showed that this approach can survive the harshest of tests. While Brancou Badio will go down as their other key guy from this series, and arguably the season as a whole, Valencia knows they have guys that will step up.
The psychological ceiling that a team otherwise new to the Euroleague Final Four (think Fenerbahce in 2015) has been truly shattered. If they fall, it won’t be because of nerves or a lack of understanding what’s needed. They have lived through all that and come out stronger.
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